Oil falls below $60/bbl after 10th straight U.S. crude build

NEW YORK (Reuters) by David Gaffen – Oil fell below $60 per barrel on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories rose for the 10th straight week amid concerns about excess global supply. Prices, however, rose from the day’s lows in tandem with a rally in stocks after a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said risks to the U.S. economy are relatively balanced, suggesting the pace of interest-rate hikes may slow in coming months. In the last three days, oil investors have been more willing to buy on declines after a rout that took crude futures down by 30 percent since the beginning of October. Brent crude LCOc1 was down 32 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $59.89 a barrel as of 1:18 p.m. EST (1818 GMT), after falling as low as $59.03. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 25 cents to $51.31 a barrel, up from its session low at $50.61. In a speech, Powell said the Fed had no “pre-set” policy path, suggesting the central bank’s steady rate of interest-rate increases could slow in coming months. Powell has been heavily criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has broken with decades of precedent to weigh in often on Fed policy.… continue reading